My nursing dog has recurring skin infections and is losing weight?

I am very concerned by these pictures. I worry that the skin may be a manifestation of an underlying health issue. I would highly recommend blood work and a skin biopsy to help identify what the underlying problem is. Unfortunately cancer is high on my list of concerns. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to know without knowing more about the case and examining him. However, if these infections are recurrent, I would have to assume that this could be due to allergies. An examination and gathering more information would help tremendously. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. What year did scribing sounds like a bacterial skin infection. It sounds like it had done okay on the prescribed course of treatment. Unfortunately, sometimes infections may require several courses of antibiotics or several different antibiotics before an adequate response is achieved. I would suggest going back in to see your veterinarian who initially prescribed the antibiotics and shampoo. The shampoo that I'm most recommend is duoxo chlorhexidine PS combination and bathe twice weekly until the infection is resolved. You can find this shampoo online if you're vet does not carry it. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available by phone or text baste consultation if needed.

I’m so sorry to hear about Sargeant. Though your question focuses on the skin, I must insert that weight loss in any dog - but an older dog particularly- is very concerning. Liver, kidney, and heart disease, as well as cancer are the things I would want to rule out first. If you have not yet run a basic blood panel on Sargeant, I would highly encourage it. In terms of the skin, underlying allergies can cause repeated skin infections and hair loss. If Sargeant is itchy, talk to your vet about possibly pursuing allergy treatments. A trial treatment for mites is also a good idea. Finally ringworm, auto-immune disease, and others are possibilities. Best of luck to you and Sargeant!

I would agree that it appears their is an infection on the skin, but I could not say for sure if this is a Staph infection. These are somewhat common to the skin, but without a culture of the affected region we are truly just taking a best guess. If the condition seemed to resolve and is now coming back, the course of antibiotics that was utilized may have been successful but too short. Recommencing the antibiotics should be discussed with the veterinarian. I would also see about getting her on medication for the itchiness, as well as fitting her with a collar to prevent any self-mutilation. Another possibility is that we are simply dealing with a superficial puppy pyoderma. This is a fancy way of saying simply puppy skin irritation. Many times these can be annoying but will eventually resolve on their own as the dog gets older. Since you are seeing erupting lesions, I tend to lean more towards a true, treatable infectious process. Lastly, I would definitely stop using hydrogen peroxide. Although it may have antiseptic properties, this can actually delay healing in some cases. If you want to scrub the area, I would use something like dilute betadine or chlorhexidine solution. Hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures you have provided, I suspect that she is dealing with a skin infection. Below are the products I recommend to treat this. If the skin condition does not improve or it worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. These products can all be found online quite easily. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until the infection is resolved. 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the area until resolved 3. Welactin omega 3 fish oil capsules 4. Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent

Poor girl. It looks like she has a severe allergic skin reaction and secondary bacterial infection of her skin. I wouldn't suspect her c-section and incision site are the cause of this. However, to get rid of this infection and help control her allergic reaction, she will need to see your vet for prescription medications. Until you can get her seen, it is best to clean these areas with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water or better yet Chlorhexidine solution 2 or 3% diluted until a really light blue mixture and then rinsed with sterlie saline. Allow either the Betadine or Chlorhex solution to stay on the skin for 3-5 mins before rinsing with the saline. Once at the vet you can then get her on much needed antibiotics to fully resolve this infection. I do hope that Lola's skin infection and allergies resolve soon! Best of luck moving forward and take care.